Open electric arc lamp and unit of electrodes therefor



June 19, 1951 A. BAYERL OPEN ELECTRIC ARC LAMP AND UNIT or ELECTRODESTHEREFOR Filed June 29, 1950 INVENTOR.

ADOLF BAYERL ATTORNEY Patented June 19, 1951 OFFICE OPEN ELECTRIC ARCLAMP AND UNIT F ELECTRODES THEREFOR Adolf Bayer], Bilthoven, NetherlandsApplication June 29, 1950, Serial No. 170,987 In the Netherlands July 6,1949 6 Claims. (Cl. 313-331) This invention relates to a set ofelectrodes for single use in an open arc lamp, especially forirradiating purposes in therapeutics, in which the electrodes have theirrear ends equipped with contacting members and their fore ends rigidlyspaced apart a predetermined distance, said electrodes and saidcontacting members forming an integral unit of substantially the samesize as the set of electrodes.

The manipulation of electrode units of the standard kind is ratherdifficult, especially when the electrodes consist of nonoxidizablesubstances and are, therefore, very small in size. Before each'use ofthe arc lamp the contacting members have to be rigidly secured to thejunction terminals of the lamp and, after cessation of the irradiatingoperation, the electrodes have to be loosened from the said junctionterminals and thereupon removed one by one from the lamp, since thecustomary conducting bridge interposed between the fore ends of theelectrodes for initiating the ignition of the electric arc is evaporatedor burnt of! during the operation of the lamp, so that the initialelectrode unit is divided into two separate parts. When the lamp isstill very hot, the replacement of the electrode unit by a new onerequires much timeand trouble.

An object of the invention is to overcome these drawbacks and tofacilitate the insertion as well as the removal of the set of electrodesin an open arc lamp. A further object is to providean arrangement bywhich the electrodes can be handled as an integral unit during as wellas after their use in the arc lamp.

A still further object of this invention is to provide units of thiskind with more than one pair of electrodes. in order to form a pluralityof electric arcs, simultaneously or consecutively.

Another object of the invention is to provide an open electric arc lampof special construction in which the above mentioned units .ofelectrodes can be applied with advantage.

With these and other objects in view the invention will now be morefully described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which apractical embodiment of an open arc lamp and electrode units used incombination therewith in accordance with the invention are illustratedby way of example. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of an open arc lamp comprising an electrodeunit in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 shows, on a larger scale, part of a section taken on the lineII-II in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side view of a unit, according to the invention, comprisingtwo pairs of electrodes.

The open arc lamp shown in Fig. 1 comprises a casing i surrounding thereflector 2 and the guides la and 3b for reception of an electrode unitused in combination with this lamp in accordance with the invention. Theguides comprise two parallel channel-shaped conductive rails 3a and 3bwhich are closed at their lower ends and arranged with their openchannelled sides in faceto-face relationship. The conductive rails 311,lb are secured to an insulated body 4 on which is mounted afunnel-shaped inlet member 5. Junetion terminals 6 and l electricallyconnect said rails in and 3b, through suitable wires, to a source ofcurrent (not shown).

In the conducting guides 3a, 3b a unit 8 is arranged comprising twoelectrodes 9 and II clamped in holders Ii and I2, respectively, saidholders being preferably made of copper. Each of these holders orcontacting members consists of a strip which is turned up at its lowerend so as to embrace the electrode (see Fig. 2), while a part of itsupper end is doubled back upon itself to form a clamp I: for a sheet Hof mica serving as a lateral connecting member between the electrodes Sand Ill. Between the front ends of the electrodes 8 and ID a conductivebridging member ll of graphite is provided. A rigid metal wire l'l evenif current is on, because the handle II is insulated through connectingmember H. The unit is lowered until it abuts against the end walls I!and 20 of the guide channels Ia and 3b. If the current is on the lampwill immediately ignite, and the bridge It will gradually disappear.Similarly the electrode unit can be withdrawn from the lamp by means ofthe wire ll, also without danger, and with the current on, whereupon theirradiating operation will cease. The removed unit of electrodes may bediscarded and immediately replaced by a new one.

In some instances'it may be advantageous to make use of units comprisingmore than one pair of electrodes, in order to obtain a plurality ofelectric arcs. The pairs of electrodes may be arranged in parallel or inseries. A unit of this kind comprising two pairs of electrodes is shownin Fig. 3. This unit consists of two outer holders II and I2 for theelectrodes 9 and ill and an intermediate holder 2| for an electrode 22,whereby two electric arcs are formed, viz. between the electrode 9 andthe left extremity of the intermediate electrode 22 and between theelectrode It and the right extremity of the electrode 22, respectively.The holders H, 2| and I! are attached to the lateral connecting member Iby 3 means or rivets 23. In this embodiment the bridging members I! areapplied on the lower sides of the electrodes between the conductiveholders ll,2l and I2. g

It will be evident that the various pairs of electrodes in a single unitmay be arranged also in such a manner that the electric arcs. are formedconsecutively instead of simultaneously. Instead by means of thebridgingmembers I! attached to the electrodes or to the holders thereof, theignition 01' the arc may be effected by separate conducting pieces whichare temporarily brought into contact with the electrodes bodies.

What I claim is:

1. In an electrode unit for are lamps comprising spaced electrodes, theprovision of insulated handling means permanently bridging saidelectrodes.

2. In an electrode unit for are lamps comprising spaced pairs ofelectrodes, the provision of insulated handling means permanentlybridging said pairs of electrodes.

3. In an .electrode unit for are lamps compris-v ing spaced electrodes,the provision of an insulated bridge permanently connecting saidelectrodes and handling means connected to said bridge.-

4. an electrode assembly for are lamps comprising spaced electrodes, theprovision of a bridge permanently connecting said'electrodes, means forinsulating said bridge and means associated with said bridge forinsertion and removal of said electrode assembly from an arc lamp.

5. An open arc lamp comprising in combination, a lamp casing, an inletin said casing, spaced electrically conductive retaining means withinsaid casing in alignment with and insulated from said inlet, means forconnecting said retaining means with a, source of power, and an integralelectrode unit for location in said retaining means comprising-spacedelectrodes, an insulating bridge permanently connecting said electrodesand a projecting handle secured to said bridge and extending outwardlythrough said inlet.

6. An open air lamp as claimed in claim 5. wherein said retaining meanscomprises a pair of parallel channelled guide members and seats in saidmembers for reception of the mutually remote ends of said electrodes.

ADOLF BAYERL.

No references cited.

